Inauguration

Anne Arundel County public schools will be open on Inauguration Day. The county had considered closing its 119 schools for President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20. School officials announced the decision Tuesday, after they considered canceling school because of the historic nature of the inauguration of the country's first blackpresident. Large absences are expected at schools across the country. "All presidential inaugurations are historic events," Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell said in a statement.

LOS ANGELES -- Traditionally on the morning of the inauguration, the outgoing president greets the president-elect at the White House. The two men pose for pictures with their wives, then have some private time together over juice, coffee and pastries. After about an hour, they ride together to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremony. The outgoing president will sit on the right side in the rear passenger seat while the incoming president will sit on the left. The crowds along Pennsylvania Avenue generally cheer for both men with much patriotic enthusiasm.

Baltimore schools will close Jan. 20 to recognize the historic significance of President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in as the first African-American president of the United States, and members of the city school board encouraged parents and guardians to spend the day with their children. The board voted Tuesday night to approve the day off so that people may watch the event on television or travel to Washington. No other school system in the metropolitan area is planning to close, but several near Washington will do so, including Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and St. Mary's counties.

Expecting record crowds in Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama, the Maryland Transit Administration is planning a special schedule of commuter buses and all-reserved MARC trains for Jan. 19 and 20. The MTA said yesterday that it will introduce a dedicated Web page Friday to provide detailed information on the agency's inauguration plans. The site will also provide information about MTA service on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Jan. 19, which is the day before the inauguration.

It seems everyone is excited about Barack Obama's inauguration, with ticket requests going through the roof. I called my congressman last week and was told my name would be added to the very, very long list of hundreds of Marylanders who plan to go. Expedia.com was first out of the gate with a Web page (expedia.com/inau guration) dedicated to making plans for the Jan. 20 festivities. With Martin Luther King Day falling on Jan. 19, it should make for a long weekend celebration. Hotels know this and have begun inauguration inflation.

WASHINGTON - Sandra Berry throws on a fur cape without looking at the price tag. "Oh, it feels great," she purrs, charging it to her credit card. She pulls the wrap tighter in the chilly lobby of the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where a temporary fur salon is serving inauguration guests. It takes five minutes to sell this ... mink? Sable? Chinchilla? "I don't even know what it is," the Detroit visitor says. "I just know I need it." (For the record, it's fox. And the price? Twice her guess of, "I don't know - $2,000?"

Moments after Joe Biden is sworn in as vice president of the United States on the West Front of the Capitol and just before Barack Obama takes his oath as president, four classical musicians will perform a work created by John Williams for the history-rich inauguration. One of those players is Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and a newcomer to the Peabody Conservatory faculty. When he got the word last month that he would be participating in what might be considered the mother of all gigs, McGill's initial reaction was: "Wow, this is absolutely unbelievable.

Martin O'Malley commanded attention yesterday in the ornate State House conference room, whirling around to take photos with congressmen and campaign fundraisers in the minutes before he was to be sworn in as governor. But it was hard not to notice 8-year-old William, the third of four O'Malley children and one who appears to have inherited many of his father's political skills. As he moves around the room, wearing a light-brown sport jacket, he holds a cup of hot chocolate in one hand, balancing it from the bottom with the other.

Blustery winds and bitter cold are chilling reminders that the hope and excitement of Inauguration Day can sometimes run headlong into brutal winter realities. The inaugurations of past American presidents have been held in blizzards, washouts and arctic cold snaps. The festivities have been shoveled out, drenched and driven indoors. Tomorrow's forecast looks mild by comparison. After a few snowflakes predicted to fall tonight, the weather will be mostly cloudy by the time Barack Obama steps to the lectern on the West Portico of the Capitol at noon.

They began lining up at 3 a.m. yesterday, and a few hours later, about 100 people were waiting for Maryland Transit Administration officials to start selling MARC train tickets to Washington for the presidential inauguration, authorities said. Ticket sales at the Camden Station were brisk all day, MTA officials said, with a steady flow of patrons paying the special $25 rate to ride the MARC for the Jan. 20 event. "We didn't think people would be out there that early, so we opened up an hour earlier than expected, at 8 a.m.," MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene said.